Supporting a friend in need: Taking on the UK’s toughest ultramarathon
A man is taking the words ‘best mate’ to another level by raising money to support a friend in need.
Ben Corcoran, 28, and a site manager for Speller Metcalfe, has set himself a target of raising £10,000 to build a rehabilitation room for friend Will Taylor, 33, following a mountain bike crash that left his friend with devasting injuries in February last year.
Will, who is from Bristol, suffered major trauma to his spinal cord which left him with a fractured and dislocated vertebra, undergoing six hours of emergency surgery to reset his spine and relieve pressure – however his injuries were critical and left him paralysed from the chest down.
Since his accident, Will’s goal was to able to sit upright at home, but incredibly in the last six months he has pushed himself to get back in the pool, on a specially adapted bike and has even started working part-time.
However, it isn’t all plain sailing; Will struggles with levels of tone, spasms, stiffness, damaged neural pathways, muscle fatigue and weakness.
While fundraising to date has helped Will with physiotherapy and equipment costs that have been life-changing to his physical and mental recovery, there is still a long way to go. This includes undergoing physio almost every day for the rest of his life, which he has had to fund privately to support his progress.
That’s where friend Ben comes in.
Ben has set his £10,000 target to build a rehabilitation room for Will in his garden – something he can use every day, independently – with friends, family or a physio. It will give him the ability to exercise safely, on his own terms and for free.
To help make this happen Ben is two-thirds of the way through completing a tri-series of extremely challenging events. So far he has ticked off the Manchester Marathon, the Keswick 50K Trail Ultra Marathon and this July, will be aiming to complete the Race to the Stones 100K Ultra Marathon – the UK’s biggest ultramarathon.
Ben has been working his socks off and has achieved an incredible £3000 in fundraising so far, but he is hoping to push this as far as he can for friend Will after the completion of his final event next month.
Ben explained why he has taken on such a feat: “Will and I are very much alike, we love our sports and live to be active! While his accident was absolutely devastating, I’m so proud of the progress he has made and the positive mindset he has taken on to become as strong and fit as he can.
“With the support of others, I know we can make his rehabilitation room a reality – it would literally be life-changing for him in every sense of the word. I’m hoping that through my commitment to taking on some of the most challenging events I have ever undertaken I can do my part in supporting him.”
If you would like to donate to Will’s cause, visit the link: DONATE HERE